"The besieged Australian Rugby Union has had secret talks with mining magnate Andrew Forrest about his ambitious plans for an Indo-Pacific competition. ARU chairman Cameron Clyne had face to face talks with Forrest while ARU chief executive Bill Pulver and other senior management also met with a Forrest delegation that included former Force captain Matt Hodgson on Saturday.

The talks came as the ARU faced a backlash from parents angry about the way their children were treated in the pre-game ceremony at the Wallabies test match against the Springboks on Saturday night. The parents said the children were not allowed on the pitch as promised and blamed sensitivities over the recent axing of the Western Force, which has sparked protests including a show of support for the Force at Saturday night’s test.

Forrest, who was at the Test, said plans were moving forward rapidly. More details are expected to be released in the next few days.

“I’m delighted with the response we have had,” Forrest said. “I don’t mind at all if Super Rugby rolls ahead very successfully and I hope it does. It’s not competitive to Super Rugby, not competitive to the ARU. It’s entirely complimentary to Australian rugby. The ARU will recognise that this is wonderful for Australian rugby, really manna from heaven, to attract the best talent back into Australia and make that all happen in time for the World Cup 2019 in Japan. What I know for sure is that the Indo- Pacific Championships are here and will add enormous depth to Australian rugby.”

Forrest said Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was excited by the idea. “Michael is a very pragmatic guy and he is excited by anything that can keep the best talent in Australia and get the best talent back.”

The ARU would not comment on the talks however it is understood the governing body is looking at using the rebel tournament as a replacement for the National Rugby Championship that is likely to be shut down next year.

Meanwhile the stalemate Test at nib Stadium was bitter sweet for Western Force and Australian winger Curtis Rona.
He went onto the ground to make his second Wallabies appearance but as he left was still coming to grips with the fact that it would be his last appearance there as a Force player. Rona, who played his junior rugby for Wanneroo Districts, switched to rugby league when there was no pathway to professional rugby in Perth. He was lured back this year but his time in Perth has been short lived after the ARU axed the Force from Super Rugby this week. He is now a target of Australian Super Rugby sides and there has been talk of NRL clubs trying to get him back.

But Rona sent a clear message after Saturday’s 23-all draw against the Springboks - he is staying in rugby. “There has been a lot of talk in the background but my main focus is the Wallabies,” he said. “My main goal is to keep playing consistent football, get more game time under my belt and feel my way around at this level. Negotiations behind the scenes will sort themselves out in coming weeks.” "

I'm going to go out on a limb here and surmise that article contains a grain of truth (gleaned from the Twiggy side) and a whole lot of conjecture, perhaps fuelled by the ARU trying to run defence or interference.

Time will tell, we need to be patient in the meantime. One thing I saw in the last few weeks is a guy with resources willing to put his name and reputation on the line. Whenever I've seen that in the past good things have happened.

I think in many respects it would be the most practical and pragmatic approach, but only on a few provisos...
- that the comp be actually run to spread the base of professional rugby, meaning mechanisms for providing funding around the country
- be administered in total isolation from the ARU, as they are clearly not interested or capable and will poison the well if it suits SR or their pet constituency (as would be inevitable from the first point). Actual structure would be TBA, but aimed at supporting point 1.
- Equally, the competition controls all the revenue streams, IP and participation, including broadcasting
- that RUPA put some skin in the game, providing a minimum $7M out of their GPR cut for player salaries (its intended purpose, after all). They could think of it as an investment in the future, when the comp is returning more than that. This would be over and above the GPR cut from the comp itself and reinvested in salaries, but could maybe incorporate a mechanism to progressively reducing it once competition revenues go through $50M.

There would be a lot of devil in the detail no doubt, but if it were to start on the wrong foot it would be doomed from the start.

There's one empty channel in the Fox Sports section of channels, called Fox Sports More on 507. Most of the day it shows nothing, it only comes on when there's an extra game of cricket or tennis match of interest. Wonder how much trouble it could've been to show it on there.

I'm starting to think though, that the ARU are doing things half-arsed, so they can say "hey, we tried it, and it failed, what more do you want from us?"

When the ERU complain at the registration of business name in an attempt to get it rejected, we can just say "It's pronounced Fwaru and is intended to remind us of the red Italian sports car without breaching trademark"